Powerline network adaptor

My internet connection via wifi is average at best and sometimes drops out at inopportune times. It's gotten better since I replaced my router but it still has its issues.

I was thinking about getting a powerline network system, but the only ethernet port on my computer is occupied by my NAS. Being network illiterate, I have to ask — is a network switch what I need to accommodate both the NAS and powerline network?

Thanks.

EDIT: I meant to post this in the networking section but maybe it's a better fit here. Anyway, sorry for my error.

I'd add that if you're doing NAS level stuff, you can probably get away with backhauling your Internet connection over it, but anything you're doing inside your house should be via Ethernet (into the switch.)

My experience with powerline networking has been surprisingly positive with respect to reliability, but fast it is not. YMMV and older buildings won't do as well. If you own where you live (vs. rent) I'd be very tempted to pull actual Ethernet if you can budget for an installer at some point.

If you replaced your router and your wifi is still unreliable, I would suggest replacing the wifi card in your laptop. At the very least, update the BIOS if it's a laptop. I've noticed that when some machines try to do power save mode the wifi adapter the behavior can be unpredictable.

Good choice on powerline though, when it works, it really works well. Even if it doesn't work for the particular arrangement you have now, I'd suggest keeping them as they are a handy ace in the hole. For example, plug in a TV via powerline and now it's not burning air time your mobile devices could be using.

Another option might be MoCA, but that very much depends on the wires you have in the house and where you want to put your stuff. I would recommend Actiontec bonded MoCA 2.0 for the speeds. (newer versions like 2.5 if you can actually find them)

Does the router have a switch built in, most do? If so run your network port of the NAS into the router switch, then run your network of your computer also into the router switch (another port). Or your powerline adapter into the switch of the router also, if you need to buy one.

Wait.. so you're using your NAS with just computer direct connected with Ethernet cord at the moment?

Yes, and the NAS is not connected to the internet nor do I want it to be. My needs are simple, i.e., real-time, temp. backups that get transferred to off-line externals and cloud storage. I really didn't need the NAS but my wife bought it for me and so I'm using it. This makes her happy which, in the long run, is good for me.

My router is on the opposite end of the house from my office (where my desktop and NAS are located). I'm after an easy solution so the powerline setup + switch seemed like it might be the way to go if it worked. As far as speed goes, I'm clocking anywhere from 5-20 Mbps over wifi. Surely a powerline setup isn't slower than that is it?

Depends on which version of powerline networking. The Latest versions out there should be faster provided it works. It depends on your house wiring. And you won't know until you try it in all honesty.

TPLINK AV2000 series uses the latest version. Other brands do too but the only one i know offhand.

And putting a switch to connect the computer hardwire to the internet and the NAS will technically allow it to the internet. But i wouldn't worry about it. And other computers at your house can access it if you so desire.

Wait.. so you're using your NAS with just computer direct connected with Ethernet cord at the moment?

Yes, and the NAS is not connected to the internet nor do I want it to be. My needs are simple, i.e., real-time, temp. backups that get transferred to off-line externals and cloud storage. I really didn't need the NAS but my wife bought it for me and so I'm using it. This makes her happy which, in the long run, is good for me.

My router is on the opposite end of the house from my office (where my desktop and NAS are located). I'm after an easy solution so the powerline setup + switch seemed like it might be the way to go if it worked. As far as speed goes, I'm clocking anywhere from 5-20 Mbps over wifi. Surely a powerline setup isn't slower than that is it?

Thanks for the replies.

In my experience, speeds can be anywhere from 0 to about 60-70 Mbit (this is real net throughput, after overhead), and sometimes moving it to a different outlet even in the same room can make a vast difference. There is no way to tell without trying.

Regarding WiFI, I've had to install a digital media player at a commercial site in a location that was too far for it's integrated 5dbi ducky antenna. The device "saw" the SSID, but would not reliably connect, much less actually transmit or receive data. In desperation, I got this at a local Fry's Electronics:https://www.amazon.com/Hawking-Technolo ... B0000DIET2.. and it connects reliably at about 15-20 Mb now. I was impressed.

You may find a similar gain for a good directional antenna as well. The one I got only supports 2.4GHz (b/n) because of the cheesy cable it comes with, but there are ones that work with 5Ghz as well. Don't underestimate what a good antenna can do.

You're correct with the solution--switch to connect your NAS and computer together with the powerline adapter.

Powerlines will vary, but I've found them to be quite good and if they aren't, well, you find out pretty quickly. Best test will be to use iperf on both ends and do some throughput testing to see what's the max.

You can also avoid the switch completely by getting a powerline that has more than one ethernet port built-in. There are some that have up to 3 ports. Although then if the switch fails, you can't just replace a cheap dumb switch with another cheap dumb switch. But the upside to having to replace the whole powerline unit is that you can upgrade to whatever the newest technology is, which increases throughput dramatically with each technology change.

You can also avoid the switch completely by getting a powerline that has more than one ethernet port built-in. There are some that have up to 3 ports. Although then if the switch fails, you can't just replace a cheap dumb switch with another cheap dumb switch. But the upside to having to replace the whole powerline unit is that you can upgrade to whatever the newest technology is, which increases throughput dramatically with each technology change.

I had given thought to a multi-port powerline setup, but not for this reason. Thanks.

Regarding WiFI, I've had to install a digital media player at a commercial site in a location that was too far for it's integrated 5dbi ducky antenna. The device "saw" the SSID, but would not reliably connect, much less actually transmit or receive data. In desperation, I got this at a local Fry's Electronics:https://www.amazon.com/Hawking-Technolo ... B0000DIET2.. and it connects reliably at about 15-20 Mb now. I was impressed.

You may find a similar gain for a good directional antenna as well. The one I got only supports 2.4GHz (b/n) because of the cheesy cable it comes with, but there are ones that work with 5Ghz as well. Don't underestimate what a good antenna can do.

My wifi is built into the mobo (Asus P8Z77-V Pro) and the supplied antenna uses a mmcx male connector. I could get an adapter to try a different antenna, but signal strength has rarely been an issue and interference from neighboring networks is about nil. Still, I guess I could try an antenna and, if there's no improvement, return it. Thanks.

Even good antennas can still get interference though, and that's why a wired solution would be much better (even though powerline is subject to some disturbances as well from noise in the power lines, although I've never experienced it.)

One of our hotels had a completely wireless distribution system put in many years ago to the tune of $30k. It worked well when it wasn't raining, but a good rain would wash out the connections between the buildings even though there were dedicated antennas and receivers. It was not the quality of gear available today as this was the early 2000s when 802.11g was just getting a foothold, and I'm sure there have been massive improvements, but signals still can have interference.

We scrapped the entire system and replaced it with ethernet extenders that ran over 30 year old water logged pots wire for a wired backhaul and then Meraki OD2s for access points to create a mesh system that was self-healing and automatically supported multi-wan as we had a t1 as well as cable Internet. It was a beautiful system that literally 'just worked' due to the combination of technologies. Since the new owner was going to rip it all out and throw it away, we took it with us when we sold the property. Not sure what system he could put in place that would have been more reliable, but he had his own ideas and was a real ahole.

My internet connection via wifi is average at best and sometimes drops out at inopportune times. It's gotten better since I replaced my router but it still has its issues.

I was thinking about getting a powerline network system, but the only ethernet port on my computer is occupied by my NAS. Being network illiterate, I have to ask — is a network switch what I need to accommodate both the NAS and powerline network?

Thanks.

EDIT: I meant to post this in the networking section but maybe it's a better fit here. Anyway, sorry for my error.

There are also PLNA adapters that have multiple ethernet ports on them. For example, the TP-Link AV1200's have a 2- and 3-port version. I personally am using the 3-port version (a 2 pack was actually cheaper then the 2 pack of single port units). I get around 85Mbps/15Mbps on them average. It came in handy as my wifi coverage was crap after I moved my closet downstairs, so my personal desktop and now an additional AP are connected via PLNA.

As far as speed goes, I'm clocking anywhere from 5-20 Mbps over WiFi. Surely a power line setup isn't slower than that is it?

I've recently put 4 power line adapters in my house. The house was built in 2005 and doesn't have any Ethernet run through it. I'm using the cable modem/AC router on the main level which was distributing WiFi to the finished basement and to the second floor. While the AC WiFi could get a very high max throughput which matched or exceeded my internet's 170mbits per second, I found it to be less than reliable in practice, especially in my master suite which is located above the garage since the router has to deal with insulated walls. Once you've got a couple of consoles, a desktop computer, a Macbook, a couple of tablets, phones and a couple of apple TV's all trying to use the Wifi at once, it failed pretty spectacularly. (I have a big family)

I installed 4 TP-Link "1200Mbit" power line adapters in the house. One is at the router, of course, one behind the main TV with consoles and apple TV, one behind the upstairs TV with a console and apple TV (Ethernet switches used). The remaining one is attached to the desktop PC.

These are not the newest hotness "2000mbit" versions but they are, all the same, AV2 with MIMO and repeating.

I have found that they do not suffer from interference. They provide the same level of performance whether every heavy appliance in the house is running or if nothing is running. So what level of performance is that?

-About 150mbits everywhere except the master suite which is 127mbits.

Yes, that's less than the max that the WiFi can put through but it's utterly reliable. Pings are low and packet loss is 0. It seems to be a ring topology because streaming an HD movie (23mbits) will reduce the bandwidth to all other units by that amount. With both TVs in use doing HD streaming, the desktop still has about 100mbits available, again, with low ping and 0 lost packets. Would you take 100mbit Ethernet over 170mbit WiFi? I would and I am.

Stuttering of streams and other similar problems are a thing of the past in this household.

Naturally, wifi is also much better now since the only thing on it are things like tablets and phones. The big data hogs are moved to the wired solution.

I suppose it might be a good idea to get the newer 2000mbit hotness but these were on sale at Best Buy (Canada) for $60cdn/pair. The 2000mbit ones were $100 and use the same AV2 MIMO standard, just at a higher data rate. Worth 167% the cost? Since these work so well, I say no.

I also have some MOCA adapters which work even better on their own but they're limited to where coax is run and, sadly, no longer function in my house after the installation of a whole home DVR which uses MOCA and blocks my adapters. Power line has no such limitation and will work anywhere you have an outlet.

I've recently put 4 power line adapters in my house... While the AC WiFi could get a very high max throughput which matched or exceeded my internet's 170mbits per second, I found it to be less than reliable in practice...

I installed 4 TP-Link "1200Mbit" power line adapters...

-About 150mbits everywhere except the master suite which is 127mbits.

Thanks for that write-up, I should be getting my adapters today and I'd be thrilled with results similar to yours. I opted to go with a single port model because of cost and local availability, so I'm adding a switch to complete the setup.

I have one more question. My printer is accessed via wifi and that won't change. From my desktop, can I use wifi for printing while using ethernet to connect to the internet?

I've recently put 4 power line adapters in my house... While the AC WiFi could get a very high max throughput which matched or exceeded my internet's 170mbits per second, I found it to be less than reliable in practice...

I installed 4 TP-Link "1200Mbit" power line adapters...

-About 150mbits everywhere except the master suite which is 127mbits.

Thanks for that write-up, I should be getting my adapters today and I'd be thrilled with results similar to yours. I opted to go with a single port model because of cost and local availability, so I'm adding a switch to complete the setup.

I have one more question. My printer is accessed via wifi and that won't change. From my desktop, can I use wifi for printing while using ethernet to connect to the internet?

If you're printer is "wifi" then it's on the network. It doesn't matter what medium your desktop is connected as your desktop will also be connected to the network.

Ok, I just hooked it all up and my NAS was recognized and accessible. However, I didn't have internet connectivity until I changed the ethernet settings (TCP/IPv4) to obtain the IP address automatically. Then my internet was good but my NAS was borked, no longer visible from within Windows. My previous settings for IPv4 were 10.1.1.11 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0

I assume I'm going to have to configure the NAS differently using its web interface... or is there something in Windows that will do the trick?

BTW, download speeds are ~75 Mbps, which is what Comcast provides. That's way better than the 5-20 (with dropouts) that I was seeing before.

EDIT: As a temporary workaround, I set my wireless adapter settings to match my former ethernet settings and now I'm accessing my NAS through wifi (I guess). Doesn't seem like the best approach, but as I said, I know next to nothing about networks.

If everything it hooked up through the switch and then to the powerline adapter.

Find out your local ip address scheme 192 or 10 scheme and write it down.

Then change it manually to 10.1.1.11. When you get access to the NAS's web interface.You have two choices. Do it DHCP or manual. If you pick DHCP it'll auto set once it resets. And you figure out it's new IP via looking at your DHCP table on the router.

OR you manually set it using the IP address you wrote down above changing the last part of the address.

If everything it hooked up through the switch and then to the powerline adapter.

Find out your local ip address scheme 192 or 10 scheme and write it down.

Then change it manually to 10.1.1.11. When you get access to the NAS's web interface.You have two choices. Do it DHCP or manual. If you pick DHCP it'll auto set once it resets. And you figure out it's new IP via looking at your DHCP table on the router.

OR you manually set it using the IP address you wrote down above changing the last part of the address.

Newegg has a local warehouse so I placed my order on Sunday and picked them up yesterday afternoon. I am frankly surprised they're working so well right out of the box. Just what the doctor ordered for someone like me.

As far as speed goes, I'm clocking anywhere from 5-20 Mbps over WiFi. Surely a power line setup isn't slower than that is it?

The house was built in 2005 and doesn't have any Ethernet run through it.

I wish I saw this post before, but you might actually have Cat5 run all throughout the house and not realize it. It's not at al uncommon to see Cat5 used in place of Cat3 for telephone jacks in newer homes. You can always pop one of the jacks off the wall and see what the jacket on the cable says (or well, perform a visual inspection). If that's the case, you can just convert a few jacks here or there (assuming you can trace out where they go) and have a hardwired backbone on the cheap.

Newegg has a local warehouse so I placed my order on Sunday and picked them up yesterday afternoon. I am frankly surprised they're working so well right out of the box. Just what the doctor ordered for someone like me.

Thanks again to everyone who offered help in this thread.

That's the same kit that I have! (x2)

I can recommend that you should install their little utility. It lets you control the LEDs on the units, measure the speed between them which is very useful for finding the fastest outlet in a room. Sometimes an outlet 3 feet away will provide much better speeds. You can also update the firmware on the units which I recommend doing.

Quote:

wish I saw this post before, but you might actually have Cat5 run all throughout the house and not realize it.

I can recommend that you should install their little utility. It lets you control the LEDs on the units, measure the speed between them which is very useful for finding the fastest outlet in a room. Sometimes an outlet 3 feet away will provide much better speeds. You can also update the firmware on the units which I recommend doing.

I installed the utility, thanks. Looks like my set already has the current firmware but I'll keep an eye out for a new version. Oh, FWIW, the speed as reported by the software is only about 250 Mbps which is a far cry from 1200 Mbps but more than adequate to handle the 75 Mbps that Comcast provides.

I wouldn't generally recommend powerline adapters unless you know that your power is single-phase and on a single breaker box. WiFi, microwaves, and many other RF sources will interfere with powerline frequencies. They've gotten better with OFDM technology, but the throughput would be a far cry from the advertised Phy rates in Mbps.

Bonded MoCA 2.0 adapters now support 1 Gbps, which is considerably higher than the 100-250 Mbps you're likely to get with a "1200" powerline adapter. And MoCA is less of a concern than powerline when it comes to voltage spikes during storms. I've been wary of using powerline adapters on the same circuit as any electronics that would be expensive to replace. I also can't use powerline adapters with my VoIP phone because the adapters constantly un-pair, but YMMV.

You can also improve your WiFi with a WiFi over coax kit if your router has detachable antennas. That might be the simplest and cheapest option of all if you want to distribute your WiFi signal to each room.

You can also improve your WiFi with a WiFi over coax kit if your router has detachable antennas. That might be the simplest and cheapest option of all if you want to distribute your WiFi signal to each room.

This is truly interesting. Do you have any experience with their products? I can't believe how inexpensive they are if they can do what they promise.

W/r/t WiFi over coax, there's a Wikipedia article that explains how it works, preserves the signal over long cable runs, etc. I came across some other suppliers in China as well as Dualcomm but these (Coaxifi) are the only ones that do both 2.4 and 5 GHz. I do have one of their kits that I use to reach my upstairs bedrooms and am planning to use HDHomeRun after cancelling cable TV to distribute TV over WiFi. They work well. The only caveat is that you should check if your router is "high power" if you want to use the 4way or 6way splitters. Price wise, splitters are dirt cheap and microwave band splitters are getting more affordable, so the lack of a PCBA or microprocessor probably helps make these less expensive.

As to WoCA (I might have just made that up), I'd be concerned about signal loss, but if the numbers as presented are real and repeatable, that may just be a bit of cargo-cult thinking on my own part. I'm not a Ham guy, but I do know that coax reduces signal at a fairly consistent rate. A further caveat that they seem to ignore is that the distance the signal may be traveling over coax may be multiples of the distance that wifi travels. (straightline vs. as-built)

Looking at http://www.timesmicrowave.com/calculator, 100 ft. of RG-6 is estimated to attenuate 18.8 dB at 2400 MHz. I have an old Alfa 1000mW adapter, and 1000mW would be 30 dBm, so am I right that the signal strength would be 11.2 dBm after 100 feet? It would get weaker as distance from the remote antenna increases, but still, that's plenty of runway to cover a typical house.

A review at http://homhax.blogspot.com/2017/11/revi ... x-for.html doesn't specifically say which cabled distance is involved but does show RSSI improve from -67 dBm to -26 dBm with Coaxifi/WOCA (to use the phrase you coined). I personally have no idea how long the cabling to my bedroom is but imagine it's at least 50 feet, versus maybe 30 feet over the air, and the difference was around -72 dBm over the air versus -30 dBm cabled, as far as 5 GHz goes.

As to WoCA (I might have just made that up), I'd be concerned about signal loss, but if the numbers as presented are real and repeatable, that may just be a bit of cargo-cult thinking on my own part. I'm not a Ham guy, but I do know that coax reduces signal at a fairly consistent rate. A further caveat that they seem to ignore is that the distance the signal may be traveling over coax may be multiples of the distance that wifi travels. (straightline vs. as-built)

I like wiax or cofi better as woca might be confused with moca pretty easily.

Seems like this technology is quite plausible. I might consider trying it to try to get better 2.4ghz inside our apt as all the neighboring 'xfinity wifi' aps have pretty much trampled the airspace. On our 150Mbit connection, we can barely get 5Mbit on 2.4. 5Ghz is better, but there's always a dip of some sort compared to wired. Frustrating. I really wish there was a nice and temporary aluminum encased wallpaper you could use to shield from all the other stray signals.

Cofi, Wiax, let's discuss it over brunch (or lupper?).Interference on the same channel is a separate problem and might be half of the reason (along with attenuation) behind the low throughput. You could send deauth frames using Scapy, or maybe check if the neighbors aren't hogging the DFS frequencies yet and use a DFS capable router.

Cofi, Wiax, let's discuss it over brunch (or lupper?).Interference on the same channel is a separate problem and might be half of the reason (along with attenuation) behind the low throughput. You could send deauth frames using Scapy, or maybe check if the neighbors aren't hogging the DFS frequencies yet and use a DFS capable router.

Every single channel is clogged with APs--over 100 show up in a netspot scan.

When we initially moved in a year ago it wasn't like this, but since then occupancy at the complex is nearly 100% and the provider is virtually 100% comcast with their combo modem unit and hidden additional 4 aps (6 total). Put just 10 of these in a close area and they alone will cause a lot of noise. Then there's the private routers too. It's an utter cluster...

I don't have to worry about wifi since I only stick with wired, but my wife is complaining when speeds have issues and there's not really many solutions besides isolating us from others' frequencies.